October 29, 1986
In the early years of A&J, Janis was a very insecure character, to the point of neurotic. Many readers recognized her fragility as dysfunctional, but for a disquietingly large number of others and myself, it seemed normal. Arlo wasn’t perfect either. That’s all I’m going to say about that. I always have said, frequently and recently, that my writing carried the strip in the beginning as I found my way as a graphic artist. I still believe this to be true, but taking a long look at some of the early stuff (after not having done so for a while), the writing wasn’t as strong as I sometimes credit it. There were some gems in the beginning, but I think the writing has become more consistent day to day. Sometimes, I think I am very lucky to be here after 35 years.
